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j_maddison

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 31, 2003
701
43
Nelson, Wales
I was just wondering if anyone was aware of a reason why a programme created in Visual basic wouldn't run on a Mac running Windows, but will run on a PC.

I have a programme that I will need to use for work. It is an excel file that's been created using VB6. It seems to run on any Windows machine, I've tried it on a few friends windows boxes/ laptops, and it loads every time without issue regardless of OS.

The moment I try to run it on a Mac, either through Bootcamp or VMWare Fusion, it loads the front screen and then comes up with a message that says 'Compile error in hidden module'.

I've used XP, Windows 7, and now Windows 8. Office 2010 and now Office 2013. All versions are fully licences. The only version I haven't tried using Bootcamp is Windows 8, which I've run in VMWare only.
 
Could it be related to some security settings? Macros enabled? Anti-virus? Or any other security limitation? How did you install the Microsoft office suite? Did it include all that is needed to run the macros?
 
Could it be related to some security settings? Macros enabled? Anti-virus? Or any other security limitation? How did you install the Microsoft office suite? Did it include all that is needed to run the macros?

Other files that use macros work fine. I've tired running the program both with and without anti virus software installed on the OS. I'm not aware of any security limitations, and I've done multiple installations of all the OS's. I've also had a friend try and run the programme on his Macbook pro, again no joy

My current install of Office was direct from the MS website, via a 365 subscription. Again I've downloaded and installed it twice to try and eliminate an installation issue

The only additional information I have is that I get this message when I click the Help button:

"Compile error in hidden module: <module name>, Office Shared [vblr6.chm1040201]"
 
Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate it

I've read that post before, unfortunately I don't have anything from Macubus, and I've done several clean installs to try and eliminate as many issues as possible

I believe it's centric to Windows on a Mac, the file has worked on every windows laptop or box I've put it on with the exclusion of any Mac hardware.
 
Is this an EXE file or an Excel worksheet with VBA code in it? Your description is misleading. Exactly what are you trying to run?

I spent most of the afternoon updating a VB6 program that runs fine under my Parallels virtual machine. I've also compiled it on a Windows box and it still runs on my Mac.
 
Is this an EXE file or an Excel worksheet with VBA code in it? Your description is misleading. Exactly what are you trying to run?

I spent most of the afternoon updating a VB6 program that runs fine under my Parallels virtual machine. I've also compiled it on a Windows box and it still runs on my Mac.

The file is an xls file, sorry I wasn't aware they could come in an .exe format, I've only ever seen them as .xls files

I can send you a copy if it would help?

Thanks
 
The file is an xls file, sorry I wasn't aware they could come in an .exe format, I've only ever seen them as .xls files

I can send you a copy if it would help?

Thanks

You can produce standalone apps written in Visual Basic using the Visual Studio platform. Doing so usually produces an EXE file for running on any windows machine. What you apparently have is an Excel spreadsheet with Visual Basic code embedded in it.

I don't know that I can be much help as it's been awhile since I did any Excel VB code. The object model has changed quite a bit in that time. What version of Excel are you running and which version of Windows? I could see possible problems the Mac Excel version with VB code but not under Windows.
 
Thanks, I wasn't aware of the .exe programmes

I'll PM you a drop box link to the file, even if you can help just isolate the issue that's closer than I've currently got to fixing the problem.

I spoke to the IT guys in work on Friday, they're unaware of how to fix the problem and they're don't know who is responsible for the programme internally. The programme is owned by a product manager, and isn't handled with by IT. Another dead end there
 
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